The Interplay of Spin and Charge Channels in Zero Dimensional Systems

We present a full fledged quantum mechanical treatment of the interplay between the charge and the spin zero-mode interactions in quantum dots. Quantum fluctuations of the spin-mode suppress the Coulomb blockade and give rise to non-monotonic behavior near this point. They also greatly enhance the dynamic spin susceptibility. Transverse fluctuations become important as one approaches the Stoner instability. The non-perturbative effects of zero-mode interaction are described in terms of charge (U(1)) and spin (SU(2)) gauge bosons.Comment: 4.5 pages, 2 figure

Incoherent scatterer in a Luttinger liquid: a new paradigmatic limit

We address the problem of a Luttinger liquid with a scatterer that allows for both coherent and incoherent scattering channels. The asymptotic behavior at zero temperature is governed by a new stable fixed point: a Goldstone mode dominates the low energy dynamics, leading to a universal behavior. This limit is marked by equal probabilities for forward and backward scattering. Notwithstanding this non-trivial scattering pattern, we find that the shot noise as well as zero cross-current correlations vanish. We thus present a paradigmatic picture of an impurity in the Luttinger model, alternative to the Kane-Fisher picture.Comment: published version, 4 + epsilon pages, 1 figur

Non-equilibrium Luttinger liquid: Zero-bias anomaly and dephasing

A one-dimensional system of interacting electrons out of equilibrium is studied in the framework of the Luttinger liquid model. We analyze several setups and develop a theory of tunneling into such systems. A remarkable property of the problem is the absence of relaxation in energy distribution functions of left- and right-movers, yet the presence of the finite dephasing rate due to electron-electron scattering, which smears zero-bias-anomaly singularities in the tunneling density of states.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Entanglement entropy and quantum phase transitions in quantum dots coupled to Luttinger liquid wires

We study a quantum phase transition which occurs in a system composed of two impurities (or quantum dots) each coupled to a different interacting (Luttinger-liquid) lead. While the impurities are coupled electrostatically, there is no tunneling between them. Using a mapping of this system onto a Kondo model, we show analytically that the system undergoes a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless quantum phase transition as function of the Luttinger liquid parameter in the leads and the dot-lead interaction. The phase with low values of the Luttinger-liquid parameter is characterized by an abrupt switch of the population between the impurities as function of a common applied gate voltage. However, this behavior is hard to verify numerically since one would have to study extremely long systems. Interestingly though, at the transition the entanglement entropy drops from a finite value of $\ln(2)$ to zero. The drop becomes sharp for infinite systems. One can employ finite size scaling to extrapolate the transition point and the behavior in its vicinity from the behavior of the entanglement entropy in moderate size samples. We employ the density matrix renormalization group numerical procedure to calculate the entanglement entropy of systems with lead lengths of up to 480 sites. Using finite size scaling we extract the transition value and show it to be in good agreement with the analytical prediction.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure

Measuring the transmission of a quantum dot using Aharonov-Bohm Interferometers

The conductance G through a closed Aharonov-Bohm mesoscopic solid-state interferometer (which conserves the electron current), with a quantum dot (QD) on one of the paths, depends only on cos(phi), where Phi= (hbar c phi)/e is the magnetic flux through the ring. The absence of a phase shift in the phi-dependence led to the conclusion that closed interferometers do not yield the phase of the "intrinsic" transmission amplitude t_D=|t_D|e^{i alpha} through the QD, and led to studies of open interferometers. Here we show that (a) for single channel leads, alpha can be deduced from |t_D|, with no need for interferometry; (b) the explicit dependence of G(phi) on cos(phi) (in the closed case) allows a determination of both |t_D| and alpha; (c) in the open case, results depend on the details of the opening, but optimization of these details can yield the two-slit conditions which relate the measured phase shift to alpha.Comment: Invited talk, Localization, Tokyo, August 200

Which phase is measured in the mesoscopic Aharonov-Bohm interferometer?

Mesoscopic solid state Aharonov-Bohm interferometers have been used to measure the "intrinsic" phase, $\alpha_{QD}$, of the resonant quantum transmission amplitude through a quantum dot (QD). For a two-terminal "closed" interferometer, which conserves the electron current, Onsager's relations require that the measured phase shift $\beta$ only "jumps" between 0 and $\pi$. Additional terminals open the interferometer but then $\beta$ depends on the details of the opening. Using a theoretical model, we present quantitative criteria (which can be tested experimentally) for $\beta$ to be equal to the desired $\alpha_{QD}$: the "lossy" channels near the QD should have both a small transmission and a small reflection

Quasiparticle Lifetime in a Finite System: A Non--Perturbative Approach

The problem of electron--electron lifetime in a quantum dot is studied beyond perturbation theory by mapping it onto the problem of localization in the Fock space. We identify two regimes, localized and delocalized, corresponding to quasiparticle spectral peaks of zero and finite width, respectively. In the localized regime, quasiparticle states are very close to single particle excitations. In the delocalized state, each eigenstate is a superposition of states with very different quasiparticle content. A transition between the two regimes occurs at the energy $\simeq\Delta(g/\ln g)^{1/2}$, where $\Delta$ is the one particle level spacing, and $g$ is the dimensionless conductance. Near this energy there is a broad critical region in which the states are multifractal, and are not described by the Golden Rule.Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX, one figur

Non-Equilibrium Magnetization in a Ballistic Quantum Dot

We show that Aharonov-Bohm (AB) oscillations in the magnetic moment of an integrable ballistic quantum dot can be destroyed by a time dependent magnetic flux. The effect is due to a nonequilibrium population of perfectly coherent electronic states. For real ballistic systems the equilibrization process, which involves a special type of inelastic electron backscattering, can be so ineffective, that AB oscillations are suppressed when the flux varies with frequency $\omega\sim$ 10$^7$-10$^8$ s$^{-1}$. The effect can be used to measure relaxation times for inelastic backscattering.Comment: 11 pages LaTeX v3.14 with RevTeX v3.0, 3 post script figures available on request, APR 93-X2

Effect of quantum entanglement on Aharonov-Bohm oscillations, spin-polarized transport and current magnification effect

We present a simple model of transmission across a metallic mesoscopic ring. In one of its arm an electron interacts with a single magnetic impurity via an exchange coupling. We show that entanglement between electron and spin impurity states leads to reduction of Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in the transmission coefficient. The spin-conductance is asymmetric in the flux reversal as opposed to the two probe electrical conductance which is symmetric. In the same model in contradiction to the naive expectation of a current magnification effect, we observe enhancement as well as the suppression of this effect depending on the system parameters. The limitations of this model to the general notion of dephasing or decoherence in quantum systems are pointed out.Comment: Talk presented at the International Discussion Meeting on Mesoscopic and Disordered systems, December, 2000, at IISc Bangalore 17 pages, 8figure